Patricia Hill Collins in her piece "Toward A New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender As Categories of Analysis and Connection" relays a very important message that I think youtube user 'Marinashutup' illustrates perfectly in the video above. Collins points out that people often look at the oppression most serious to them and ignore all the others they are experiencing or that exist in the world, (Collins, 1). As we talked about in class, this has led to an either/or approach to viewing people's identities. You are either a man or a woman. White or a person of color. Gay or straight. This type of mentality denies the fact that there are many people out there facing intersecting oppressions due to multiple parts of their identity. It also has prevented unity in the women's movement. As Marinashutup points out, historically mainstream feminism has taken a 'one size fits all approach' to viewing women's issues. This has resulted in a clash between white women and women of color, disabled women, LBTQ+ women, etc because white women do not face the added oppressions that those other subgroups experience and often fail to acknowledge that privilege. When mainstream feminism does not acknowledge these subgroups experiences in the movement this results in these other subgroups finding feminism inaccessible. It slows progression for the movement as a whole.
I think it's important to acknowledge that there has been an increase in sensitivity towards this problem in the women's movement, but as Marinashutup points out, there is a lot of room to improve. Her critique of Patricia Arquette and Emma Watson's acceptance speeches have caused people to be angry. Many people feel that any attempt to bring feminist issues into the light of mainstream media, even if they fail to acknowledge the issues of women of color, should be applauded; that any attention is good attention. This type of mentality as Marinashutup points out, basically tells women of color, like herself, to sit down and shut up and take what you can get. It marginalizes an already marginalized group. It also reaffirms the either/or mentality: that women's issues and racial issues are entirely separate.
One of my favorite points that this vlogger points out is how tied separate oppressions can be. Her example of Kimberly Crenshaw, the originator of the term 'intersectionality,' perfectly highlights the nuanced struggle of belonging to multiple oppressed groups at the same time. According to Marinashutup, Kimberly Crenshaw has spoken out about being a black women and states she often felt that she had to pick one part of her identity over the other at a time. She was either a person of color or a woman. As Marinashutup states, "This ignores the reality that the sexism that women of color face are often racialized and the racism they often face is often sexualized." People often ignore the fact that other forms of oppression come into play when experiencing sexism and vice versa. As the video points out, we all often like to focus on our commonalities but its obviously important to recognize our differences, too, when trying to understand each other. Mainstream feminism needs to be more encompassing of our differences to see greater unity among us.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about the idea of intersectionality lately, so I'm glad that your post brings it back up. Prior to reading Collins, I had never thought about the way in which I experience the world. I obviously knew that everyone had different backgrounds, families, religious upbringings, etc but I didn’t realize how all of that tied together to make our life experiences different. I am a white upper-middle class woman and that has shaped everything I've ever known. Because I face the world as all of those things at once, and am unable to separate them, my experiences are unique. Everything I know (or I think I know) is because of a combination of my race, gender, and class. And I think it’s unbelievably easy to get caught up in yourself and forget how others are experiencing life differently than you. (As demonstrated in the speeches referenced in the embedded video). And it’s devastating because I agree with you that it is holding back feminism as a movement. I’m glad because I think one of the first steps to uniting as a group is recognizing this idea of intersectionality, while also accessing the idea that we are all victims and oppressors- and that one oppression is not greater, or lesser than another. “Once we realize that there are few pure victims or oppressors, and that each one of us derives varying amounts of penalty and privilege from the multiple systems of oppression that frame our lives, then we will be in a position to see the need for new ways of thought and action” (Collins, 2).
Intersectionality.. Thanks for explaining it in detail. Sometimes I feel like we get it kind of confused but thanks for the clarity. I never knew until recently that Kimberly Crenshaw was the creator of the word intersectionality although there were many feminists before her that discussed what it was but didnt know what to call it. Intersectionality has been a topic for years and many women struggle with it black or white. I believe we often forget about the many types of depression and how everyones perception of their oppression can be different or affect them differently. Every ones experience is different and unique just like Jaime said. Great post and great vlog! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! As someone who was guilty of being a "white feminist" and looking back at a time when I didn't see the oppressions that face women of color, LBTQ, differently abled, and so on, it's amazing to me how much I've changed my perspective, but I am also aware now of how much I still have to go. I think that one of the biggest reasons "white feminism" exists is people don't have the education (or choose not to have the education) to learn about issues that they themselves don't face. And this lack of allyship from white, straight, upper-middle class women is one of the biggest drawbacks of the feminist movement. Yes, while you're still learning, being an ally can be difficult because of lack of knowledge, and not knowing where the line between being a good ally and overshadowing others is, but just because it's hard doesn't mean we shouldn't try. I think that Patricia Hill Collins says it best; "We typically fail to see how our own actions and thoughts uphold someone else's subordination" (Collins 1). I think that once the feminist movement is able to unite itself and realize that we are all oppressed, even though our oppressions may be different, it will be unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words!
ReplyDeleteThe video was absolutely correct -- too many people are oppressing overall women's problems and only focusing on bettering themselves. Growing up surrounded by "white priveleged" people basically my whole life it is absolutely gut wrenching to see how such big issues like equality are swept under the rug. Race is so misunderstood in todays society. Mainstream feminists are pushing towards equal pay when some women cannot even gain decent employment or respect from these establishments. We are so behind as a generation in not just gender equality, but RACIAL equality. These problems should not continue to be kicked under the fridge like the ice that falls out of the freezer. WE NEED TO PICK IT UP AND PUT IT IN THE SINK -- we need to equalize ALL people.
Like Patricia Collins says, we need to get at that oppressor thats buried in all of us!
Yes, we are all of different backgrounds and cultures but we are all people and we do not have to continue to be intersectioned negatively, or even intersectioned at all. The world is addicted to labels and procrastination -- but the first step in relieving an addicting is admitting there is a problem.
We need to bring awareness to the oppression that is going on around us before we focus on what is yet to come.